Sparks
by happycemetery
Summary: Sequel to "Pulse" (Read first or you're going to be super lost.) This story pairs two original characters, and has some Iron Man and Spider-Man involved. Finding yourself in the world, dealing with inner demons, and trying for a shot at love are all hard enough when you're a normal person. How much crazier would it be when you're an Avenger and the son of Tony Stark?
1. Prologue: Press Conference

Tony Stark was in one of the many places he thrived: front and center at a podium and running his mouth with an air of absolute nonchalance and confidence. He had the press eating out of the palm of his hand as always, and Andrew watched on dutifully from the side of the small stage. Being the son of Tony Stark had its perks and its drawbacks. As if his life hadn't flipped around enough with him gaining powers, it became even more changed when it became publicly known that the billionaire-philanthropist-hero had adopted a teenage son. Andrew found himself thrown into the limelight. And it had been awkward and uncomfortable in the beginning, but Andrew ended up falling into the roll quite nicely. The seventeen-year-old came to like the attention to a degree; just sometimes how he was supposed to act or certain "Stark" responsibilities were a chore.

Being at a press conference, for instance, meant Andrew had to "dress up", and being in a suit and tie with his usually disheveled hair styled neatly was less than desired. Though Andrew pulled off looking quite impeccable and down right a young heartthrob all decked out. The boy may not have been Tony's biological son, but he definitely looked like Tony's mini in instances like these.

"...and that brings us to the last topic on the agenda I know you all are dying to hear about." Tony's words finally perked Andrew's interest. The teen knew what was coming, and he started buzzing with anticipation. "So I'm quite confident in assuming that none of you here live under a rock: _so_ as you all know, my son was involved in an attempted kidnapping last week."

Andrew bit at the inside of his cheek to keep an amuse grin from erupting at his features. _Attempted_ kidnapping was right. He kept his attention on his dad, but he could feel the eyes of reporters on him now. The flashes of cameras going off in hopes of capturing his reaction to the ordeal being brought up.

"Ballsy. I'll give the culprits that." Tony went on. "But ultimately very very _very_ stupid. I know there aren't any details out there, and I'm not really about to give out many details of what went down, but I would like to take this time to address any other would-be child abductors out there." Tony focused his eyes on one of the cameras. "There are better ways to try to get money out of me or to piss me off. Taking my son ended up badly for these morons, and it would end badly for you too. See, their miscalculation was thinking they only had to worry about _me_ fighting to get him back. And of course I would have. But here's one big detail for you: I didn't have to. Get over here, Drew." Tony gestured in a more lighthearted manner.

Andrew gave a little nod and put on his game face as he walked across the stage. He stood beside his father and held his hand out in greeting to the reporters and flashed a winning smile. Andrew didn't have a problem with this attention; because finally, the fun part of the press conference was about to happen.

"So there's more to my boy here," Tony placed his hand on Andrew's shoulder, "than him being a smart, talented, goodhearted, and devastatingly handsome young man."

Andrew couldn't hold off from rolling his eyes.

"He didn't need me swooping in to save him. He can hold his own. And maybe if I had made this announcement earlier, those asshats rotting in a jail cell probably would have thought twice about their little plan. We've been keeping this pretty low key, but now I think it's time... Those reports some of you have been making about that blue little bullet of light zipping through the sky and streets and taking care of the odd crime here and there in our city. That little light has a name: Pulse. And I'm proud to say that it's my son."

Andrew grinned when Tony signaled him with a nod, and Andrew happily let his energy rush outward, washing his body in a blue glow.

The room interrupted in a flurry of camera flashes and reporters' voices all jumbling together to get their shocked questions through.

"Hold on, hold on. I know." Tony held up his hands in a calming gesture. "Questions in a second. But first I just need to lay one more thing on you people today. A one-two punch, if you will. I'd also like to announce Pulse here as the newest Avenger..."

Andrew swelled with excitement finally hearing his father say the words.

"...trainee." Tony finished.

Andrew's smile fell into a disbelieving glare directed to his dad. "Trainee?" He questioned indignantly, his glow falling away.

Tony smirked.


	2. Disappointment Dread

_~Two years later~_

The large structures stood prominent out against the flat nature that surrounded them. A small lake and a sea of green grass and trees surrounding landing pads and the interconnected buildings with sleek architectural lines of light gray and glass. It was the new Avenger's Facility. It was home. And Andrew Stark was happy to be back.

The nineteen-year-old practically sprinted out of the freshly landed small private plane. The automated stairs hadn't yet fully retracted down to the ground, but Andrew was in too much of a hurry to bother with stairs anyway. Simply clad in a battered up Misfits t-shirt and jeans and with a red backpack slipped on, the young man leapt through the open plane doorway and let his blue glow of energy wash over him. The force of the energy was immediately manipulated to allow Andrew to take flight. He stayed low to the ground, just about three meters in the air as he swiftly propelled himself toward a lesser used side entrance reserved for the facilities' main residents like himself. His sneakered feet landed precisely outside the door, and his glow extinguished. As he was being scanned by security, Andrew impatiently bounced on his toes and scratched his fingers through the top of his short tousled hair. Hair that had recently been buzzed shorter at the sides, leaving the wide strip of longer hair down the middle to serve as an slack messy fauxhawk.

 _"Confirmation."_ Friday's female Irish voice sounded, and the door clicked unlock. _"Welcome home, Andrew."_

"Yeah thanks," Andrew said dismissively. "Is Ozzy inside?" Were the more pressing words out of his mouth as he pushed inside.

 _"His presence is detected in the lab."_

"In what now?" Andrew mused to himself. He figured the A.I. had to be glitching. No way would his dad let Ozzy be in the lab.

 _"Your father is also there and is requesting your presence,"_ Friday added.

Andrew smiled and hurried his way from the foyer through the familiar route to Tony's lab. Once inside Andrew grinned at the sight. Yeah, his dad was there and Andrew hadn't seen him in person for a month and a half, but the young man completely overlooked his father's presence. There was someone else there that Andrew was admittedly more excited to see.

Andrew let his backpack plop to the floor, and he squatted down where he stood, patting at his knees. "C'mere boy!" he called out with a smile in his voice.

And so where Tony was sat —leaned back in his chair, his legs crossed and resting atop the work table— he suddenly found his hand petting at air where a dog had been just a split second ago. Ozzy was a two-year-old Pitbull mutt; his coat mainly a multi-toned brown with a large patch of white that went from above his left eye, down his snout, and ended at his chest. He had some white paws to match, and his ears were thankfully undocked and adorably floppy. The energetic lean forty pound hunk of fur sprinted full-on toward clearly its most beloved human. Andrew didn't bother trying to brace himself when Ozzy reached him and leapt up toward his legs. Andrew let himself fall with the momentum and laughed as Ozzy walked over him; the dog coming to a stop where he could properly lick Andrew's face.

"I missed you too," Andrew said with a laugh in his voice, as well as a slight grunt due to the weight on top of him. Andrew rubbed his hands swiftly back and forth over his dog's flanks lovingly. He really had missed his drooling fur ball.

"Feelings hurt." Tony had made his way over to the boy and his dog, and jokingly clutched at his heart in anguish. "More love for the pooch than your old man."

Andrew gently shifted the dog off him and opted to get into a one-knee kneeling position instead. He kept lavishing Ozzy with pets and scratches, but he looked up to his dad with a guilty smile. "Come on, can you blame me? I got to talk to you all the time. This little dude, not so much." Andrew gave Ozzy a couple more pats and some 'good boys', but he quickly calmed his dog and got to his feet. He stepped up to Tony and gave his dad a readily returned hug. This welcome sent a happiness through Andrew's heart as well. Yeah, he had kind of missed his dad too.

"That's more like it, punk." Tony gave Andrew a few hearty pats on the back before he pulled away arms length, keeping his hands gripped at Andrew's shoulders. The teen had long since grown to be only and inch shorter than his dad. "Let me get a good look at you, Mr. Big Man on Campus, back from his first year of college."

Tony looked so proud, and it was then that Andrew noticed the man was wearing a Brandeis University t-shirt. Andrew inwardly cringed, and it took all his power not to physically do so. To say the least, Andrew didn't care much for college life at Brandeis. And if he could have his way, his first year of college would also be his last year of college. Andrew usually felt like he was able to be open with Tony about anything, but this here was different. This would be disappointing the man who gave him a second chance at life. The man who gave him everything he could ever want. The man who showed him endless support. Andrew had let Tony know upfront before the grueling 'applying to colleges' process that he wasn't even interested in going to college at all. But Tony had been so enthusiastic over it that Andrew had caved in to his dad's wish that he just give his freshmen year a real try.

"You don't look excited. Why don't you look excited?" Tony stepped back a bit to grab his StarkPad from the nearby table. "You're not worrying about getting your grades, are you? I might have had our girl Friday do some digging and calculating so we wouldn't have to wait," he spoke swiping over the screen. "You done good, punk." Tony showed an impressed smile as he projected out the screen image for Andrew to see. "3.60. That's Dean's list material."

Andrew did allow himself a second to feel pleased with himself over that. He was certainly no natural genius like his father; but for a regular schmuck, Andrew felt like that GPA was pretty damn good. He promised his dad he'd try his absolute best, but Andrew had to work his ass off every damn day and night to the point of wanting to bash his head against a wall to keep his grades up. The last thing Andrew wanted was three more years of that shit, studying crap he didn't care about.

"I guess I didn't completely suck then." Andrew settled for his response, showing Tony a smile. He quickly changed the subject, hoping it would be easier to keep his true feelings of his college experience buried down for the time being. The delaying of disappointing his dad was top priority. "But what I'm more surprised about is catching you hanging down here with Ozzy," Andrew gushed. He reached to pet his dog some more. "I knew all that being a hardass about him was an act. You love him." Andrew grinned, and gave Ozzy more attention. "'Cause you're the best boy, aren't you? Yes you are."

"He may have grown on me a bit while you were a away. A furry drooling surrogate Drew, if you will. But I definitely don't like him."

"But you're the one that got him for me," Andrew said with a chuckle.

"Because you wanted dog," Tony shrugged, saying it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. The man leaned down to give the mutt a quick pet in spite of himself. "A boy should have a dog if he wants a dog. You deserved a dog. And speaking of awesome gifts from your awesome pops..." Tony placed his hand on Andrew's back and led him further into the lab. "I know it was tough, taking a break from being an Avenger to being a regular ol' college kid. Well, as regular as you can be being who you are and everyone knowing who you are. And I know we butted heads a bit with me benching you from all the Accords mess and that Berlin fiasco. I stand by not dredging you into a 'family feud'. But anyway, I'm loosing track... Just, you did good, punk. I'm proud of you. So now that you're back to being Pulse for the summer, an upgrade was in order."

The teen had been led to the row of display tubes where Tony kept his favorite older Mark versions of his Iron Man armor. Tony gestured to the last tube on the right with a sideways smile. Mark 43 wasn't in there as usual, but instead it was a new Pulse suit displayed over a clear mannequin. Andrew's eyes widened as he took it in. It was similar to his old one, but now the specialized material was a little darker —a midnight blue. All the embellishing lines were now black and silver, and so too was the logo across the chest, a broad triangle with the tilted symbol for muon energy designed to fit in a sharp, jagged style within it. There was a streamlined black utility belt, and a sleeker pair of black and silver tech enhanced goggles. Andrew mentally gushed over it. An upgrade indeed.

"Tell me, she ain't a beauty." Tony crossed his arms over his chest, looking impressed at his own work. "You deserve it. Amazing first year, punk. Here's to three more."

And with those words Andrew suddenly felt racked with guilt. Would Tony still want to be giving him this gift if he knew how his dear son really felt about continuing his college education? Andrew couldn't put off what he needed to say any longer, even if it meant he was totally ruining this moment. He squeezed his eyes shut before he spoke, not wanting to have to see his dad's reaction. "I wanna drop out."

The silence that met Andrew's ears was deafening. Especially since his father was the kind of man that always had something to say about anything and was hard to shut up. The teen gingerly opened his eyes, and seeing Tony's blank expression made Andrew scramble to explain himself.

"I know that's not what you wanna hear, but I mean, it can't be that much of a surprise. You know I didn't wanna go in the first place. And we talked every week; I did sugarcoat things a little, but I know I made it pretty clear I wasn't having the best time. I guess I'm glad I tried, but it's just not for me."

Tony sighed quietly out his nose. "You know, you have all summer to figure this out. I know things weren't easy, but-"

"I don't need any time to figure this out. It's figured." Andrew felt his confidence coming back a little. "The only reason those grades are as good as they are is because I didn't want to let you down. But it wasn't just the school work that sucked. It was hard to just be me." Andrew sighed and looked to his father with deep brown eyes pleading for understanding. "The last thing I wanna do is disappoint you, but I-"

"Whoa whoa," Tony cut in, holding up his hands. "Stop right there, mister. Just give me a minute to not react like my own dad here." Tony closed his eyes and took a long deep breath. He nodded to himself a bit before landing his eyes back on Andrew's anxious ones. "First off, you are anything but a disappointment. I forget sometimes how different we are, because for best or for worst you're a lot like me," Tony smirked a little. "It's your life. It's your choice. It's just my job to help steer you in the right direction. And I guess if this year managed to show you how smart you are, how determined, and yeah, even how much you didn't like higher education... I think we can still call it a steering success. Now we can definitively say you want nothing more than being a full-time Avenger, yeah?"

Andrew let out a relieved sigh that his dad's reaction had taken the understanding turn. "Yeah. Yeah, I just wanna help people."

Tony smiled warmly. "Then that's how it's gonna be."

"You're the best." Andrew grinned widely.

"Obviously," Tony said smugly, ruffling Andrew's messy hair.

"So, I should probably go give that thing a test drive right?" Andrew gestured to the new suit. Now that there was no more worry hanging in his chest, he was nothing but excited.

"I'd be insulted if you didn't," Tony remarked.

The man's pocketed phone buzzed then, and Andrew made himself busy by squatting down and yet again lavishing Ozzy with pets and scratches as Tony's attention was brought to the device.

"Hmm, I think I might have a little assignment for you." Tony's eyes were on the screen as he spoke to his son. "You've been out of the game for a while, so I think I'd like to put you back to basics. There's someone who could use a little help back in the city. You remember that spider kid I told you about?"


End file.
